Friendships
by Raeinspace
Summary: AU, set in High School, no magic. Zelena/Cora/Regina family, eventual SQ. Regina, Zelena and their friends are teenagers in High School. Emma is the new girl who makes friends with Killian - a troublemaker. Can Emma ever become friends (or more?) with Regina? Will Zelena go against her mothers wishes and date Killian?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT, etc.**

**AN: I'm going to try and post one chapter a day now until Christmas over my various stories (a 12-posts-of-xmas idea), so this is the first. Enjoy.**

* * *

Zelena had promised her mother that she would stay away from Killian and that she would make sure he stayed away from Regina. They had been friends growing up, but recently his attitude towards school and authority had changed. Over the summer he had been arrested by the local Sheriff on a weekly basis – nothing serious, just juvenile trouble-making – but Cora Mills didn't want her daughters involved with him anymore. It was going to be her final year at the high school, it would have been Killian's too if he had attended the examinations at the end of the last term or shown up to summer school. Zelena wondered how their principle, Mr Gold, would handle the new Killian and hoped that whatever was going on would be over soon.

She knocked on Regina's door when she had finished in the bathroom. Their mother had an en-suite but the sisters had to share. Sometimes that annoyed Zelena, like going in to find that her little sister had borrowed the last of her favourite shampoo, but other times she really enjoyed having someone who looked up to her and asked her for advice. She remembered helping Regina choose her outfit for the first day of high school, reassuring her that everything would be fine and that she had nothing to worry about.

Regina was lucky. She was smart, so the teachers liked her and she had a gentle kindness that made everyone like her. Although she hadn't chosen many friends, she didn't seem to have any enemies, and while she was pretty, she didn't worry about her looks or try to use them to get what she wanted. Sometimes Zelena worried that Regina was too unfocused, that she wasn't thinking about where she wanted to go or what she hoped to do after college. Her own goals had been set for years, she knew exactly what she wanted from life and she planned to get it. That attitude hadn't made her many friends at school, but it didn't bother her. She was tough, no-one crossed her, and that reputation had protected Regina as they grew up, until her little sister began to find her own feet in the new school environments.

"Morning Zee," Regina smiled as she exited her room and saw her sister waiting.

"Morning Gi," Zelena smiled back at her, enjoying their usual morning routine and realising that when she moved away to college she would miss this.

She watched Regina close the bathroom door and headed down for breakfast. The first day of her final year at high school was about to begin.

* * *

All of Emma's belongings were packed into three boxes, marked: 'clothes', 'school' and 'other'. She had moved to Storybrooke this time last week and hadn't begun to unpack. Her new foster mother, Mary Margaret, had tried to take her shopping, offering to buy whatever she wanted or needed for the new school year. Emma still worried about being sent away, everything she needed was in those boxes, there wasn't room for anything else. Still, Mary Margaret had picked out a few basic items and insisted on hanging them in Emma's wardrobe. She had been staring at them for nearly ten minutes since she woke, trying to decide what to wear for her first day at the new school. It shouldn't really matter, not if she won't be staying, but even if Mary Margaret keeps her around a couple of months it will be important to get off to a good start. Biting her bottom lip, Emma reaches out and removes a pair of black jeans. She wants to wear her black leather jacket, the one folded up at the bottom of her 'clothes' box. It's her lucky jacket, but too much black might make her look like trouble. This is her second-to-last year of high school. She doesn't know how she made it this far, how she kept her grades just above the failing line – enough to pass up year after year. Getting kicked out of new homes happened a lot, thankfully getting kicked out of school only happened the once. Mary Margaret told Emma that she wished she worked at the high school instead, so that she could have taken Emma and shown her around before school started. Emma is kinda glad she doesn't, she isn't sure how she would cope running into her between classes.

She picks out a white t-shirt, something plain with a small logo, and pulls off the price tags. If Mary Margaret had changed her mind, she would have been able to return the clothes. Once she's dressed, she rummages around in the boxes, grabbing some pens and paper to put in a worn backpack, and taking out the leather jacket. It's going to be a warm day. She doesn't have to wear it, but she wants to carry it with her. Even if it sits crammed into a locker all day she'll know it's there and that will be enough.

She can smell breakfast. Mary Margaret always seems to be cooking food for them, proper food that takes time and patience. As someone used to microwaves, it is taking Emma some time to get used to. Her new foster mother expects her to sit down when she eats and talk with her. There's usually more food ready, in case she's still hungry, and the smell of cookies waiting in the cookie jar. It's a small apartment, but Emma has her own room, which she doesn't have to share, and… it's almost too good to be real.

When she heads into the kitchen, Mary Margaret smiles at her. There's a brown paper bag on the counter, with some money clipped to it.

"That way you can choose what you want for lunch," Mary Margaret explains as she dishes up scrambled egg onto two plates. "I made you a sandwich, but if your new friends are buying something you won't feel left out."

"You didn't have to…"

"Once you know what you prefer, just let me know. We're out of peanut butter, so it's just cheese today, but I'll go shopping after work…"

Emma can't speak. She listens to Mary Margaret talking on and on, she sits at the counter to eat her breakfast, but these are all just automatic actions. When she offers the money back, her foster mother won't take it.

"Really, the sandwiches are enough," she tries to explain, but Mary Margaret insists.


	2. Chapter 2

When they arrive at the school, Zelena heads off to meet her friends who have been waiting for her, leaving Regina to walk through the front door alone. There are so many other students already here, with the buses still unloading. After a quiet summer she had forgotten what the crowds felt like. Heading to her locker and smiling when people moved out of her way, Regina kept looking around for her friends. Her big sister seemed to like hanging around in a large crowd, but Regina preferred to only have one or two close friends. Of course, she had always counted Killian as a friend, even though he was a couple of years older than her, but now mother and Zelena had told her to stay away from him. She didn't understand why. Killian was a good person, he would never do anything to hurt her, he was just… Regina wasn't exactly sure why Killian had changed so much, but she knew it was just surface-Killian and not real-deep-down-Killian. She believed that eventually he would go back to being himself and then they could all be friends again.

"Regina! Finally!" Kathryn grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the lockers where Belle was waiting before Regina could say 'hello'.

Belle smiled as she approached, hugging the books for their first class as if she was eager to start reading them.

"Kathryn, what's going on?"

"Look!" Kathryn's face lit up as she pointed to a new picture in her locker.

Regina recognised the boy, Freddie, as one of the football players. He was a year older than them, and although not one of the star players she had seen him play in one of the matches last year. In the picture he had his arm around Kathryn's shoulder and they were both smiling.

"We're dating," she squealed with excitement.

Regina glanced at Belle who was still smiling at them, probably because she had heard all about it from Kathryn while waiting for her to arrive. "Tell me everything."

Belle waited with them until the bell rang, and they had to separate for their classes. Kathryn reminded them to meet by the lockers so they could head in for lunch together. Belle teased her, asking if Freddie was going to join them, but that just made Kathryn want to go and find him to ask. With a laugh, Belle reminded her that he was probably on his way to class and she had better head that way too.

* * *

Emma hated standing in the school office. This one was no different to all of the others she had been in, with the possible exception of its size - Storybrooke was a small town. Even though she was supposed to be getting her timetable – her late arrival just before the start of term meant the admin staff were still trying to figure out which classes she should be in – she had to wait in the row of chairs usually indicating a student waiting to see the principle.

Five minutes after the first class had started, a teen around her own age was escorted in and told to take a seat. Emma turned to look at him, and smiled. Clearly someone trying to be 'bad', and using all of the cliché techniques, for example: too much black leather.

"Killian," the boy held out his hand assuming the smile was a friendly one.

"Emma," she replied, deciding to hold back her laughter.

"First day?"

"Yep. Any advice?"

"It's a small town, emphasis on the small, and dull with a capital D."

Just then, one of the administrators came over. She handed Emma her new timetable, a slip of paper explaining to the teacher why she was late, another with her locker location, its combination, and explained where to go for her first class. While she was there, she also handed Killian a detention slip.

"What, no visit to the principle?" he asked, pretending to look upset.

"Not this time. Now get to class."

"I guess Mr Gold's run out of inspirational speeches," he called back over his shoulder as he walked to the door.

Emma laughed and followed him, looking down at her timetable. "Hey, do you know where Room 012 is?"

"Sure."

Emma hurried along the corridor to catch up to him, "Can you show me?"

"C'mon."

Killian didn't look back. He led Emma past rows of lockers and down the stairs at the back of the building. The door indicated that it was 'Staff Only', but Killian didn't even slow down as he pushed his way inside.

Emma paused and allowed the door to close in front of her. She tapped her left foot on the ground nervously. If she followed him in and got into trouble on her first day…she didn't want that. She took two steps back from the door, wondering if he would return for her. The gamble paid off. A few seconds later the door re-opened and he looked through the gap.

"What's wrong?"

"That's not the way to room twelve."

"Do you really want to turn up halfway through a class? You're new, that means the teacher will ask you to tell the class your name and something about yourself. They'll make you stand up front and then they'll put you with the most 'model student' in that class to 'help you' adjust."

"This is high school."

"Correction: this is Storybrooke High School. You're treated like a child _forever_. Now, are you coming in or not? I promise to get you to your next class on time."

Emma wanted to question why he was being nice to her. She still suspected an ulterior motive, but there was something about him that made her want to trust him. It might be fun.

Giving a little shrug and telling herself that she could always claim she got lost (_yeah right_, _and somehow forgot how to read the sign on the door_), she stepped forward to follow him inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Kathryn persuaded Regina and Belle to bring their lunches outside, telling them they had to enjoy the day because it wasn't raining. They sat on the grass, watching a group of jocks toss around a football. Well, Kathryn was watching Freddie toss around the football - Belle was making notes for her homework and Regina was looking around for her sister and Killian.

"Who's that?" Regina asked suddenly, breaking Kathryn's concentration.

"Huh?"

Belle looked up from her notebook to see what was going on. Regina was pointing over to the steps leading into the school. She could see Killian talking to a blonde girl, someone she didn't recognise.

"No idea," Kathryn muttered before turning back to Freddie.

"Is it Ashley?" Belle asked, squinting as she tried to see the girl in the distance.

"No," Regina shook her head. "I don't think so."

"So what? I thought you weren't supposed to talk to him, what does it matter who Killian hangs around with?"

"Zelena will care."

"Zelena didn't care when she came and told us to make sure you stay away from him," Belle pointed out.

Regina frowned. "She told you too?"

"Yep."

The idea of her big sister bossing her around was one thing. Zelena bossing her friends around was another. Regina resolved to have a word with her as soon as she saw her. She didn't say another word, but watched as Killian and the blonde sat on the steps, talking. She wondered if Zelena knew who she was.

* * *

Emma's first class (technically anyway, as she had skipped the timetabled first) had gone well. She had slipped into the room nice and early, getting a seat by the window and going completely unnoticed by the teacher. The other students had noticed her, but not said anything - waiting for her to introduce herself, she guessed. Killian had compared their schedules, showing Emma which ones they shared and each agreeing to save the other a seat if they were first to the room. During their hide-out in the basement, Killian had shown her some of the janitors secret rooms. He explained that Leroy, one of the janitors, didn't mind him going down there as long as he didn't touch anything. There were tables and chairs set up for the janitorial staff, which was now down to two or three people due to lack of applicants for the jobs, and plenty of space for them to just hang out. He explained about being held back a year, and said that Leroy understood he sometimes needed some space. Emma was surprised, she asked why and he explained about his lack of attendance at the exams and failing most of the coursework. He quickly assured her that he was going to pass them this year. Then Killian quizzed her on her favourite bands and tv shows, and Emma asked about the possibility of having fun in such a small town.

Her next class was Spanish, another one on her own, but this time the teacher saw her unfamiliar face and came over to talk to her. She wanted to know how much of the language Emma knew, testing her out with a few questions in the language. As the room filled with the other students, all of whom seemed to be staring at her, Emma felt more and more nervous. She stumbled over her answers, wondering if they would ever end. Eventually the teacher gave nod, as if satisfied, and told Emma she would see how she did in the end of week exam, implying that a bad grade would get her sent to a different class.

Emma kept her head down for the entire lesson. She stared at the textbook, listening as the others gave their answers and avoided being called upon by the teacher. At the end of the class, she grabbed her things and sped out of the door. Part of her wanted to flee to the basement, but she knew that Killian was in the next class and as least with art she could lose herself in the drawings.

Tossing her Spanish books into her locker, she watched a group of girls walk past, ones she vaguely recognised from her Spanish class. They stared at her, but didn't speak. Emma closed her locker and took a look at the map Killian had drawn on the back of her timetable.

"Make any new friends?" His familiar voice asked a moment later.

When Emma looked up, he was leaning against the lockers facing her. "I hate languages."

He laughed, "Art is that way."

A brunette girl walked by, brushing against him as he moved away from the lockers. They both apologised at the same time, but when she recognised him she quickly looked away and kept walking. Emma frowned. The girl was familiar.

"That was rude," she commented, following Killian down the hallway. "Who is she?"

"Regina Mills. Year below us."

"She was in my Spanish class."

"Yeah, she's practically fluent and her mother wants her to keep it that way. She'd be in the year above but her sister's in that class so the teachers suggested leaving her just one year ahead."

"So you know her sister?"

"Zelena Mills. Same mother, different father. They were raised together, I don't think Zelena ever knew her father, he might have died before she was born or something. Regina's dad treated them both as his girls though, he died two years ago."

They reached the art class.

* * *

There was no time for Regina to talk to her sister straight after school. Zelena had music lessons and by the time she arrived home their mother was there, so any kind of private conversation was out of the question until after dinner. As soon as that was over and their mother allowed them to return to their rooms, Regina followed her sister up the stairs.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure, come on in."

Zelena went over to her desk and began opening the textbooks for her homework. Regina hovered in the doorway, listening out for signs her mother was coming up. She pondered how to begin.

"I thought you should know… Killian has been hanging around with the new girl at school."

"You know we're supposed to stay away from him."

"He's probably only doing it to make you jealous."

"How many times do I have to tell you? We were never dating, and Killian can hang around with whoever he wants."

"He asked you out, loads of times."

"And I told him that we could only be friends. Now, do you have anything important to say?"

"I know you like him too."

Zelena sighed. "Regina you're too young to understand…"

"I'm sixteen in a few weeks."

"Then start acting like it!" Zelena snapped at her.

Hurt, Regina turned and ran to her own room. She lay on her bed and began to cry. Nothing made sense. She wished Zelena would explain why she wouldn't date Killian, when it was obvious how much they loved each other. She wished her mother hadn't told them to stay away from him. She wished and wished for things to go back to the way they had been just a year or two ago.

Zelena didn't come and apologise until it was nearly time for them to go to sleep. It was a short, one-word 'sorry' and Regina just nodded to acknowledge it.


	4. Chapter 4

Emma was feeling happy. It was a little scary, but she was trying to push the fear aside and was determined to enjoy her day. She smiled at Mary Margaret, made pleasant conversation over breakfast and headed outside to find Killian waiting for her.

"You know where I live?" she asked as they started walking to the bus stop. "Should I be worried?"

"You said Mary Margaret's your foster mom, and she just happened to be my teacher when I was ten. I told you, it's a small town. I'm not a stalker, promise."

"Now I'm more worried that you know where your ex-teacher lives," she teased him.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I only found out when we used to come trick or treating around here."

"Aw, how cute. I bet you were dressed as Count Dracula, weren't you."

"A pirate, actually. Well, that first year anyway. My mom would make something different every year."

Emma went silent, remembering her own Halloweens. Sensing he'd said something to upset her, Killian tried cheering her up with funny stories about the people they were passing. Emma laughed and relaxed, not quite able to believe everything he was telling her.

* * *

Regina only noticed Belle sitting beside her when the other girl placed a large pile of books on the surface of the table between them.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked, surprised to find her in the library.

"Nothing."

"Come on Regina, you're staring at your maths book and we don't have that until tomorrow."

Regina considered a sarcastic reply about it being a library, and a place to study, but Belle was one of her best friends. She didn't deserve that.

"I had a fight with Zelena. It was all my fault."

"I'm sure she's forgotten all about it by now."

"She apologised, and I know I should have done the same but part of me was angry with her. We never fight, not like that."

"She's just under a lot of pressure, it's her last year and whatever she said…"

"Am I immature? I know I'm not chasing after football players like Kathryn did with Freddie, but I just don't like any of them that way. Should I want to find someone?"

Belle put her arms around her friend, giving her a quick hug. "Hey, don't forget I'm single too."

"Yeah, but you've got that crush on August…"

"No I don't."

Regina giggled at her friends rushed words. "Please, Kathryn and I both see the way you look at him. You're always talking about how much you love those essays he writes for the literature classes. Face it, you like him."

"It's his writing. Some of the poetry he posts on his blog is amazing…"

"His blog? Are you cyber-stalking him now?"

"Of course not."

"I'm only joking." Smiling, Regina looked at her watch. "Classes start soon."

"It wouldn't do for Regina Mills to be late, would it?"

"You're just as bad as I am at worrying about getting into trouble."

Belle stuck her tongue out and grabbed her books from the table. "Come on Miss Goody-Two-Shoes."

"I thought Kathryn was the childish one in our group?" Regina teased as she followed her out of the library.

* * *

Ruby was smoking in the toilets again. Zelena had frowned as she recognised the sweet smell of the e-cigarette when she entered. It was faint – the windows were open – but if someone told the teachers… Not wanting her friend to get into trouble, Zelena knocked on the only locked door.

"Ruby you promised…"

The door opened, but it wasn't Ruby standing on the other side. Zelena recognised Emma, the new girl she had seen hanging around with Killian. Her friends had been happy to investigate the blonde and find out everything they could about her.

"Guess she kept her promise, huh?" Emma smiled at her.

"What are you doing with that?"

"Quitting smoking, what else?"

"You're too young to smoke."

"That's why I'm using these to help me quit," Emma explained as she put the black plastic to her lips and inhaled.

"If you get caught you'll still get detention. Mr Gold thinks they'll only encourage you to try the bad cigarettes later."

"He's too late for that."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thanks. You're Zelena right?" Emma pressed the button to switch off the device and looked at the redhead, trying to see any similarities between her and Regina.

"So?"

"Just checking."

"Why?"

"Heard a rumour you used to be friends with Killian, but I didn't believe it."

"And now?"

"I'm sticking to that." Emma tucked the e-cigarette into her bag and walked past Zelena to take a look at her reflection in the mirrors.

"Why are you friends with him?"

"Why did you stop being friends with him?"

"None of your business."

"He's a nice guy, funny…"

"He'll just get you into trouble. Are you sure you can afford to get suspended, or worse?"

Emma just laughed. She wasn't sure whether Zelena had seen her file or if she really believed the act Killian was putting on but there was no way she thought being his friend would going to end in her getting suspended. Turning around, Emma gave Zelena a friendly wave and left.

The Spanish teacher had the look in her eyes that Emma recognised as the universal signal for students to be very afraid. She gripped her pen tightly in her hand and doodled at the edge of her notebook to try and distract herself from whatever was coming.

_Please don't let it be a test._

"Class, today I am going to pair you up for your end of term assignments. Names will be drawn at random from the bowl on my desk," so saying, the teacher reached in and plucked out a white strip of paper. "Amber, you'll be with…" second piece of paper, "Ryan."

Emma watched their reactions. She still didn't know anyone in the class so whoever she was paired with didn't matter to her. Hopefully they would feel the same. Her foot tapped on the floor as she waited, her pen circling heavier and heavier against the blank page in front of her. Finally her name was called.

She was so distracted staring at the spiralling design that she missed the name called before hers. _Damn_, now she'd have to wait until they came to her.

At the end of the class, everyone began filing out and talking about the assignment. Emma picked up her books and walked towards the door. Regina Mills was waiting for her.

"I intend to pass this class. If you don't think you're up it, I can ask to work alone," the brunette warned her.

"Fine by me," Emma agreed, not sure that she wanted to work with her either.

She watched Regina walk back into the classroom and wait for the teacher to notice her. Emma smiled as she realised Regina's request was being denied and decided not to wait around to hear whatever else she wanted to tell her. Killian was waiting for her, perhaps he would know how to deal with the situation.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: It's been a while since I last updated on FF, and I'm sorry. With work (possible redundancy looming, updating my cv, applying for jobs, completing assignments to see if I even get an interview for new jobs, etc), creative writing course (final essay which I've been trying to work on since last August -when I realised I had passed the other essay and could continue the course-reading countless journals and changing my essay topic a dozen times and it's still not finished - I now feel I know Catcher in the Rye inside-out and I'm starting to question if I can write a 4k essay on the technical craft of it, looming public speaking for the course which I'm panicking about because I hate public speaking and have managed to avoid it this far in life) and general life-stuff. Okay, I'm babbling, but it's just nice to write it all down. Panic (sort of) over.**

**Again, apologies and enjoy! **

**P.S. thanks for reviews etc, I have read them all, I'm just really bad a replying.**

* * *

"We can't study at my house," Regina told Emma when she cornered the blonde at her locker.

"Good, I don't want to go there anyway."

"The library is out too. I was in there this morning and they had a sign up…"

"You want to start today?"

"The sooner this is over…"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Listen, the teacher will know if I do all of the work and she'll mark me down if she thinks we worked separately and then put the two pieces together."

It had been a long time since Emma had lived anywhere nice enough to invite someone from school back to a foster home with her. Mary Margaret didn't seem the type to mind, she'd probably bake them cookies to encourage a friendship.

"Killian's walking back with me, but we can study at my foster mom's."

Regina didn't want her sister to see her walking with Killian, even if Emma was there with them. "I'll go home and get my laptop first. What software do you have? If we're working on this together we'll need to use the same one to share files."

No matter how often she had to explain, Emma still hated the fact: "I don't have a laptop, or computer."

"Oh. Well we'll just have to use mine for now. You can use the library ones during lunch breaks or before and after classes for research then email it to me and we'll meet up weekly to merge all the stuff we find for the presentation. Unless Mary Margaret has a computer?"

Emma frowned, "you know who my foster mom is?"

"It's a small town. My dad was friends with her dad and I heard she was going to foster so..."

"Great. I guess that means you know where she lives?"

Regina nodded. "See you there half an hour after school finishes."

* * *

Killian was emerging from the basement when Zelena walked past. She saw him and quickly turned away, changing direction to avoid him. The look on her face upset him, so he went after her to try and talk, hoping to change her mind about their friendship status.

"Zee, wait up!" he called as he jogged down the corridor.

"Leave me alone."

"I just want to talk."

"Fine," she turned to face him, "make it quick."

"I know your mother doesn't want us to be friends anymore, but is that any reason…"

"That isn't the reason why…"

"Then what is? Is it because of something I said, or did?"

Zelena shrugged, "I care about school and the future, and you can't take those things seriously. Getting into trouble…"

"Come on, we always used to sneak into the abandoned…"

"…when we were _children_. It's different now. We're different."

Killian shook his head, "no, just you. You've changed. Last year you were telling me how much you hated all the pressure your mom put on you to get the best grades, have the best activities for your college applications…"

"I grew up."

It hurt, but Zelena walked away and Killian let her.

* * *

Emma perched on the edge of her bed, legs crossed beneath her, facing Regina who was sitting in a chair she had carried up from the dining area. The brunette was sucking on her lower lip as she stared at the screen, scrolling through the search results. Emma had grabbed a few books from the town library on the way home and was flicking through the pages, trying to concentrate. Every so often she looked up at Regina and pointed out something she had found, but each time the other girl shook her head and told her to stop trying to take the easy way – they were going to produce something spectacular.

"You do realise you're a year younger than everyone else?" Emma reminded her after the fourth suggestion was shot down. "It's okay if you don't get the highest grade in the class."

Regina looked up at her and frowned. She muttered a few sentences to her in Spanish and Emma's eyebrows rose in shock as she recognised most of the words. Her grasp of Spanish was pretty basic, but a few of the words and phrases were ones she had heard growing up and she knew exactly what they meant. As her surprise faded, Emma grinned at Regina and translated the parts she knew, finishing with a question about where someone like Regina had heard them.

"Have you just been pretending not to know things in class?" Regina asked.

"I asked first, princess. Those were some pretty grown-up words, you know."

Regina folded her arms, "Don't call me that."

"What, a princess?"

"Yes."

"Why not? You act like one."

"Just… don't."

"Fine. Tell me where you heard such language, I'm assuming they weren't in last years textbooks."

"We went on holiday with my cousins a few years ago, they taught me. How did you know what they meant?"

Emma laughed, "where I come from, insults are part of an everyday greeting and for some of the kids English wasn't their first language."

"Oh."

"So, did you mean what you said?"

"What?"

"The compliment hidden in the insult."

Regina had to think for a moment, to work out what Emma meant. "Oh that."

Emma smiled as she watched Regina consider how to answer. A faint blush appeared on the younger girls cheeks.

"I suppose it was just part of the phrases your cousins taught you," Emma suggested, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yes," Regina agreed after a moment, but the way she avoided Emma's gaze hinted that there was more.

Suddenly the blonde got off the bed and moved towards her. She held out the library book, open at the last page she had shown Regina and waited for her to take it, wanting to see if Regina would allow their hands to touch.

* * *

In one of her old neighbourhoods there had been an older girl who befriended her, let her hang around with her friends. When they were alone they would laugh and gossip together, Ellie would slip her arm through Emma's or sit down close beside her. Then Emma began to open up, to really talk to her, and one day the girl had outright asked Emma if she fancied anyone at school. They had been lying on Ellie's bed side by side, listening to music. Emma didn't understand why she that gave her the courage to finally do it. One minute she was holding her breath, then next Ellie was moving in to kiss her.

It was a simple brush of the lips. Now when Emma thought back to it, she understood that Ellie had done it that way so she could pretend it was a joke, or an accident, if Emma reacted badly. It had been such a surprise to Emma when she realised she was smiling after the kiss. She had felt happy, and then scared that Ellie had only done it as a friend, or to trick her into admitting she liked it. It took Emma a moment to remember the other girl wasn't like that, but when she did, she slipped a hand over Ellie's. That had been the first moment she allowed herself to fully trust someone again.

They had only kissed a few more times, practicing, testing the waters, still unsure…until Emma moved foster homes and it was too late to tell her, to decide if it could mean more. Now here she was, just a couple of years later, preparing herself for the same test.


	6. Chapter 6

Zelena arrived home late. She intended to use the excuse of visiting the library, but when her mother asked if she had seen Regina, she changed her mind. If Regina was there, she would be caught out in a lie and her mother would be upset. She would have to text Ruby and ask for an alibi.

"Not since school."

Zelena had been wandering around Storybrooke after her encounter with Killian, without a destination in mind. She had only realised how far she had walked when she completed a half-circuit of the small town.

"It's getting late. Do you know if she was going anywhere, the library or to a friends house?"

"No idea."

"I've tried her cell but it must still be on silent from school, or maybe she's at the library. I'll ring around, see if she's with Kathryn or Belle."

She finished taking off her coat and shoes, intending to go straight upstairs to her room. Something in her mother's voice stopped her.

"What's wrong?"

"We've got some company coming to dinner. Your fathers boss, Mr White, will be joining us for dinner with his family."

"Not again?" Zelena's shoulders dropped and she frowned.

"Don't start, please. They'll be here soon and you know how important…"

"But that kid's such a little spoiled brat…"

"Zelena! I won't tell you again…"

"She is!"

"Room. Now." Cora pointed towards the stairs. "You will come down when they arrive and help to entertain Eva. If you don't I will ground you for the entire senior year."

Zelena stomped up the stairs, something she hadn't done since she was much younger. She couldn't help it. Neither she nor Regina could put up with the 'darling princess' of Mr and Mrs White for another minute. If that was why Regina wasn't here, and she hadn't warned her to make other plans for this evening, her sister was in big trouble.

Searching through her schoolbag, she found her cell phone and checked for messages. Nothing. She wondered whether she should try and call her sister. If her mother was right, she might not realise it was ringing. Or maybe Regina was ignoring her on purpose.

She typed up a quick text, pressed send and then rang Regina's cell until it went to voicemail. At least once she saw them she'd realise something was going on. Zelena looked around her room. If the little raven-haired girl was coming she needed to move her favourite items out of the way. Last time her room had looked like a tornado hit it. Eva had wanted to see everything, touch everything, see how everything worked. While she had been so apologetic over the broken picture frame, it was her lack of awareness about other damages that had annoyed Zelena. Even when Regina was little she had never had such problems.

If only her mother would let her lock her bedroom door... - but no, they had to have an open house for their guests to roam around as they pleased. She was sure if they were visiting the White's house Eva would be telling her which things she wasn't allowed to touch.

* * *

They hadn't spoken a word for at least two minutes. Regina wasn't really counting in her head, but she knew that just because it felt like a long time to her didn't mean it had actually been hours. She hadn't fully taken the book and Emma hadn't released it. Her fingers were lightly covering the blonde's, and her heart thudded furiously in her chest at the thought of applying more pressure and simply pulling Emma towards her. Then she would see if she had been correct in assuming the blonde was flirting with her. On the other hand, she worried that it was all down to her imagination and Emma was wondering why on earth she hadn't let go. What if Emma was just teasing her, trying to see how she would react?

"Do you do this often?" Regina suddenly felt defensive and removed her hands.

Emma smiled, then laughed, "do what?"

Regina crossed her arms and gave the stare she had perfected by watching her mother at work. Most high school teenagers would have backed down. There was something about the Mills woman's glare that brooked no argument. Unfortunately for Regina, Emma preferred fight to flight.

"Seriously?" the blonde asked, walking to the bed and sitting back down.

"I am trying to be serious, this project is important. Stop messing around," Regina told her.

"I saw the way you watched me walk over, the way you kept glancing over at me in the corridors. I just wanted to know if you were brave enough to admit it."

"I don't know what you mean."

Emma clasped her hands together, raised them above her head and released them so her arms moved back down slowly. Regina watched the short t-shirt rise up, revealing Emma's toned stomach. She was a little envious of the definition, the curves along Emma's arms hinting at developing muscles. Without realising what she was doing, her teeth bit down on her lower lip.

"Ha! I knew it!" Emma crowed, jumping off the bed.

Regina slammed the lid on her laptop and stood as well. Before she could grab her bag, Emma was in front of her. With a frown, Regina took a step back.

"What are you doing?" she asked, holding the laptop defensively between them.

"Just admit it."

"You're crazy."

Emma smiled, "you like me."

"Until about five minutes ago, maybe."

"So if I do this…" Emma reached out and brushed her fingers over the ones Regina had curved around the laptop, "and this…" she leaned in, whispering, her lips just out of reach, "you don't feel anything?"

"No," Regina shook her head, cross with the way her heart was pounding in her chest.

She watched Emma sigh and pull back, a hurt look in her eyes, "I'm sorry."

"I have to go."

Emma nodded, turning away, "I'll write up some notes and type them on the school computers tomorrow."

"Emma…"

"Just don't, okay?"

"I…"

"It's fine, I get it."

"Oh, really?" Regina released one hand from the laptop, lowering her arms and allowing it to hang down from the other hand.

"Yeah, you're not the first. So, what's the reason this time? … Actually, don't bother, I think I can guess."

"You think you know me that well?"

Emma shrugged, "it doesn't matter."

"Tell me."

It took Emma a moment to gather the courage to turn back around, but she did it, ticking off the mental list as she spoke. "You think you're too good for me, and you're right. Also, you probably haven't told anyone that you're gay so you're scared to admit it to me, because you don't know me. Maybe you've never kissed a girl before, or you're worried I'd tell everyone your secret and you think you know how they'd react..."

"You're right, I've only known you for five seconds, so even if I was gay – and I'm not saying I might be - I'd like to think that if I wanted to kiss someone I would get to know them a little better first. That has nothing to do with thinking I'm better than them, or my experience of kissing…"

"So you're saying you're not gay?"

Regina frowned, trying to find an answer that would feel right. She didn't know if she could trust Emma. The blonde was staring back at her, though now the look was different, a little sad. Regina had never thought about girls that way. She'd never really thought about boys, either. Part of her just assumed that one day she'd fall in love like her sister and Killian had done, perhaps that was why she had been so determined to get them talking again before school started. She wished she had an answer for Emma.

"I don't know."

There. The words were out.

* * *

**AN: realised I had already just Mary Margaret as an adult character, so Mr White's daughter became Eva. Hope that's not too confusing.**


	7. Chapter 7

"How can you not know?"

"I don't fancy anyone at school like that. I like them, sure, but I've never felt the same sort of connection for them that my si…other people seem to."

Emma looked curious, "have you thought about kissing girls before? Or kissing boys? Both?"

Regina shrugged, "I just assumed…"

"So you've never kissed _anyone_?"

Regina shook her head, blushing as she looked away from Emma. God, this was so embarrassing. Her mom was kinda strict, so she'd always assumed she'd been put off the idea of dating knowing the reaction she'd get from bringing someone home. Now she was standing opposite Emma and she was starting to feel curious about what it would be like to move a little closer, to see what kissing Emma would feel like.

"My mom would definitely flip out…" she began, but Emma's new smile distracted her.

Regina felt like a deer caught in headlights. Was this really happening?

"Ask me your questions, get to know me, then I'll ask you again."

"Huh?"

"You said before you'd kiss anyone you had to get to know them. How many answers will it take? We've probably got time for about seven, if you don't mind long answers. Then once you've finished, I'll ask you if I can kiss you and if you turn me down again that'll be it."

"Emma…"

"Questions only," Emma turned her palms towards Regina, "I'm ready."

The first question popped out of her mouth without her thinking. After that she was a little more cautious. She varied her questions from personal ones to lighter subjects like her favourite music. Regina debated throwing in a question about Killian's feelings for Zelena, but wasn't sure that it was the right time.

"Final question," Emma told her, having counted down on her fingers.

Regina shrugged, "I can't think of anything else right now."

"Game's not over until you do," Emma teased.

"Fine," Regina sighed, "…when is your birthday?"

"Two months, four days away. Now it's my turn to ask a question."

Before Emma could move towards Regina, they heard the front door open downstairs and Mary Margaret's voice called up the stairs to let Emma know she was home. Emma swore.

"Language," Regina automatically corrected her.

Emma just grinned, "maybe I should only swear in Spanish?"

Regina smiled back. When Mary Margaret made no attempt to climb the stairs, she stepped towards Emma, leaning in as close as she dared.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Emma blinked, eyes widening as she realised what Regina meant, "uh…"

"Or was it all a tease?"

"No…I…"

"Do you still want to kiss me?"

Emma nodded. She closed the distance between them, taking the time to place one hand on Regina's hip, the other on her shoulder. It seemed too soon for the skin-to-skin contact of putting her hands on Regina's neck or cheek. Slowly she tilted her head to the side, just enough so their noses wouldn't bump together, and gently kissed Regina the way Ellie had first kissed her.

When she pulled back, Emma saw Regina smile. She couldn't help smiling back at her.

"So…" Emma began.

"That was…"

Emma waited. Regina didn't seem to know how to finish the sentence.

"First kisses can do that," Emma supplied, "leave you a little dazed, speechless, whatever."

Regina laughed, "not something I'm used to."

"That didn't last long."

"I liked it."

Raising an eyebrow, Emma studied the other girl in front of her, "the kiss, or the feeling lost for words?"

Regina reached out and lightly nudged Emma with a closed fist that barely produced a reaction in the blonde, "you know what I mean."

"Just checking."

Regina sighed, suddenly realising that she really did like the kiss. It was going to make everything so complicated.

"Uh oh, that's not a good look," Emma eyed her warily. "What's wrong?"

"What do I do now?"

"Huh?"

"About this, about everything. Should I tell my parents, my friends… and what if…. I don't know how they'll react. Zelena and I used to tell each other everything, but lately…"

"Okay, slow down. You've kissed one girl, me," Emma smiled as she pointed to herself, "but there's no countdown for telling anyone. Take some time, work out how you feel about it, everyone else can wait."

"Did you hide being attracted to other girls at your last school?"

"I hid it from almost everyone. Of course, I didn't really have anyone to tell, and it's not like I was attracted to _every _girl I met, so…"

"Oh, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay," Emma reassured her, "you'll figure it out."

"So, was the kiss just an experiment?" Regina crossed her arms, "to prove your theory about me?"

"If I say no…?"

Regina smiled at her. Emma felt as if her heart skipped a beat and bit at her bottom lip nervously. Feeling braver, Regina stepped forwards. Rather than kiss Emma again, she allowed the tips of their noses to touch, staring into her eyes and placing a hand on Emma's shoulder.

"Emma," the voice was Mary Margaret's and was followed by a knock on the door.

A panicked look crossed both girls faces and they quickly jumped apart.

"Yes?" Emma's voice came out a little strangely, but her foster mother didn't seem to notice.

"Can I come in?"

Emma blinked and realised Regina had backed away to her previous seat, "Uh… of course."

"I've put dinner on, I thought you might like…" Mary Margaret's voice trailed off as she noticed Emma's guest. "Regina? Regina Mills?"

"Spanish project," Emma blurted out.

"Miss Blanchard," Regina rose from her seat and held out her hand to her ex-school teacher, the way her mother had taught her.

Mary Margaret waved off her hand with a smile, "you're not at school now, there's no need to be so formal. How have you been? Are you and Emma in the same class? What a small world."

"I'm in the year below, but we have Spanish together."

"Regina's been put ahead in Spanish and the teacher paired us for this project," Emma babbled on, "there was something happening at the library so we came back here to get started. Is that okay?"

"Of course, no need to ask permission. Would you like to stay for dinner Regina?"

"No, I should get home," Regina glanced at her phone, "looks like my mother's wondering where I am."

"Well you're welcome back anytime."

"Thank you. We'll talk more tomorrow, Emma?"

"Yeah…" was all that Emma could manage.

Regina grabbed her things and thanked Mary Margaret again, before heading home. She rang her sisters cell first, hoping to see why her mother had called, and tried to put what had just happened out of her mind. Now was not the time to be distracted. At least studying was a good excuse to be late home, and she had Mary Margaret as a witness that she had gone there to study.

Regina blushed as she remembered her first kiss with Emma. She wasn't smiling a few moments later when her sister explained why her mother had been calling.


End file.
